Venetian Duck Ragu

Pasta · Italian classic.

Ingredients

• 1 tbls Olive Oil
• 4 Duck Legs
• 2 finely chopped Onions
• 2 cloves minced Garlic
• 2 tsp ground Cinnamon
• 2 tsp Plain Flour
• 250ml Red Wine
• 800g Chopped Tomatoes
• 1 Chicken Stock Cube
• 3 sprigs Rosemary
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 2 tbs Milk
• 600g Paccheri Pasta
• Grated Parmesan Cheese

Method

1. Heat the pan — Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the duck legs and brown on all sides for about 10 mins.
2. Add ingredients — Remove to a plate and set aside. Add the onions to the pan and cook for 5 mins until softened.
3. Stir — Add the garlic and cook for a further 1 min, then stir in the cinnamon and flour and cook for a further min.
4. Season — Return the duck to the pan, add the wine, tomatoes, stock, herbs, sugar and seasoning.
5. Simmer — Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat, cover with a lid and cook for 2 hrs, stirring every now and then.
6. Continue cooking — Carefully lift the duck legs out of the sauce and place on a plate – they will be very tender so try not to lose any of the meat.
7. Continue cooking — Pull off and discard the fat, then shred the meat with 2 forks and discard the bones.
8. Simmer — Add the meat back to the sauce with the milk and simmer, uncovered, for a further 10-15 mins while you cook the pasta.
9. Add ingredients — Cook the pasta following pack instructions, then drain, reserving a cup of the pasta water, and add the pasta to the ragu.
10. Stir — Stir to coat all the pasta in the sauce and cook for 1 min more, adding a splash of cooking liquid if it looks dry.
11. Serve — Serve with grated Parmesan, if you like.

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